Wayne screenwriters hope sequel’s a hit

﻿‘GOD’S NOT DEAD 2’ Childhood friends Chuck Konzelman (left) and Cary Solomon, originally from Wayne, wrote the Christian movie “God’s Not Dead 2,” set to be released April 1. They are pictured next to a display of the Cyrus Cylinder, the only surviving copy of the pronouncement by Cyrus, King of the Mede-Persians, also known as the Ruler of Babylon, that the Jews were free to return to Israel following the Babylonian captivity.

﻿Devout Catholics write follow-up to their 2014 blockbuster Christian film

By MICHAEL WOJCIK, News Editor

WAYNE﻿A news photo showed the twisted remains of a house, left with only a foundation, a wall and piles of debris, in the aftermath of a devastating tornado that tore through Missis­sippi in April 2014, killing five people. That shot, beamed around the world, touched the hearts of two writers of the movie “God’s Not Dead,” devout Catholics who grew up in Wayne. It also reminded them of the far-reaching impact of their blockbuster Christian film released that year, which continues to bring people the world over to Jesus.

These childhood friends, Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, were excited to see that an overturned door in front of that decimated house in Mississippi bore a short yet powerful, spray-painted declaration of faith that shared the title of their movie: “God’s Not Dead.” The writers of this megahit, which netted more than $100 million, hope to capture lightening in a bottle again — or maybe set off another spiritual tornado around the globe — with its sequel, “God’s Not Dead 2,” set to open Easter week on Friday, April 1.

“It’s amazing that the person who spray painted ‘God’s Not Dead,’ on that door, didn’t quote Scripture or a theologian, but the title of our movie. It shows that people are hungering for movies about God and that we [the Christian media] can make those movies and beam the Gospel to every corner of the world,” said Cary Solomon about the original movie which tells the dramatic fictional story of a public college professor, who defends the existence of God in his class. “Chuck [a former parishioner of Our Lady of Consolation (OLC), Wayne] and I love being Catholic. It’s what drives us to make movies. We want to help save the world for Christ. This movie [‘God’s Not Dead’] has helped change lives for the better,” he said.

Made by Pure Flix, “God’s Not Dead 2” examines other aspects of the challenges that believers in Jesus in the U.S. face in this increasingly secularized society. Featuring many Christian actors and actress, the film tells the fictional story of Grace Wesley, a public high-school history teacher and devout Christian, played by Melissa Joan Hart. She quotes Jesus in the Gospel — his command for us to “love your neighbor as yourself” — in class in response to a student’s question about the practice of nonviolence.

The school board of her district in Arkansas learns about the incident and threatens her with disciplinary action for violating its policy that prohibits teachers from engaging in religious speech on campus. But the board does offer Wesley a way to keep her job: apologize for and recant her comments about Jesus. She refuses and sets into motion an epic legal battle that tackles issues that involve freedom of speech and separation of church and state and attracts widespread attention.

“I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God,” Wesley says in the movie.

This time, the sequel of “God’s Not Dead” takes the drama to the courtroom for the type of case that “hasn’t been litigated yet, but it’s coming,” said Konzelman, co-owner along with Solomon of Believe Entertainment, a production company that co-produced the film.

“Hollywood makes movies that promote its political agenda [to marginalize belief in God and morals],” said Solomon, who moved with Konzelman to Los Angeles 25 years ago. “So we must prepare for the greatest battle. God can’t do it alone. We also have to help. We can’t abandon it [the agenda] to our enemies,” he said.

“God’s Not Dead 2” also tells the stories of other characters, whose lives intersect at various points with the colossal legal battle, many struggling with their own doubts and ways to evangelize others or live out their faith.

The original “God’s Not Dead,” which cost only $1 million to produce, stirred up a spiritual tornado of sorts, helping in its own way to upend the increasing secular culture. The film also has helped bring souls to Christ, strengthen the faith of believers and answer the questions of doubters, both writers said.

“Everyone was surprised with its success, including us and the producers,” Konzelman said with a laugh.

In turn, Solomon noted that he has received calls and notes from all over the world. He recounted the experience of talking on the phone to a Catholic from a credit-card call center in India, who recognized his name and thanked him for making the movie — attesting to its far-reaching impact.

The story of the friendship between Konzelman and Solomon, both movie writers for more than two decades, reaches back to their childhood in Wayne. The 55-year-old Konzelman attended weekly Mass at OLC with his parents and three sisters and Sunday night Mass at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Yet, for 10 years, he fell away from his faith before moving to Los Angeles.“L.A. is such a dark place. I felt this longing to re-connect with my faith there,” said Konzelman, who joined a local parish.

To the contrary, 57-year-old Solomon grew up without religion. Yet, he always believed in God. Then, one day, he and Konzelman — feeling lonely and like failures in the movie business — walked up the mountains above Hollywood. Solomon cursed God. He thought God would kill him.

“Instead, God lifted me up. I said that I’ve got to get close to the God, who loves me like this,” said Solomon, a married father of an 11-year-old son. He completed the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program in 1998 and, with Konzelman, who is single, attends Mass at the old San Fernando Mission.

Today, both Solomon and Konzelman work outside the “Hollywood system” to produce movies for Believe Entertainment and plan to create a studio and TV network that will generate even more faith-based content. They hope to make a movie about Abby Johnson, a former director of Planned Parenthood Clinic in Texas, who later became a pro-life activist.

In a YouTube video, Hart called “God’s Not Dead 2” a “very relevant movie for what’s going on in the country and in the world.”

“A lot of Christians are being persecuted. There is no consideration of what this country was founded on and there is a disregard for Christians as a whole, who are being shoved aside, instead of respecting Christianity like other religions,” Hart said.